Episode 73: Wasatch Grand Opening

17 sausio, 2025 /
Aleksandras Glavesas /

Sup su "Sup

00:00 / 17:49

Welcome, everyone, to the next episode of Provo City School District’s What’s Up With The Sup’ podcast. I am Superintendent Wendy Dau. We have an exciting episode this week. This past Wednesday was the first day of school at our brand new Wasatch Elementary School. I visited the school on Wednesday morning to talk to students, parents and employees about their thoughts and excitement about finally being in the new building.

Tačiau prieš tai, kol iš jų sulauksime naujienų, pateikiame atnaujintus duomenis.

The school board held a board meeting on Tuesday, January 14th. The following discussions took place.
- We had a great discussion about graduation rates in Provo City School District and comparisons with the state.
- We had the board assigned to new committee assignments.
- We had Emily Harrison, Gina Hales, and Terry McCabe sworn in to the Board of Education. We know that Terry and Gina have been serving on the board for the past four years, but this begins their next term.
- We also had a discussion about a municipal building authority, or what is also known as a lease revenue bond to help with the financing of Timpview High School and the Dixon site reconstruction.
- And we also had a conversation about the Utah Fits All scholarship.
At the December 10th board meeting, the board approved to change to this year’s school calendar.
- Šis pakeitimas reiškia, kad mokslo metai baigsis trečiadienį, gegužės 21 d., t. y. dviem dienomis anksčiau nei planuota iš pradžių.
- Ši informacija buvo išsiųsta elektroniniu paštu visiems tėvams ir paskelbta rajono interneto svetainėje bei socialinėje žiniasklaidoje.
There are six new policies or procedures available for review on our district website.
- Go to Provo.Edu, click on Policies, Forms, and Documents.
- You can click on Review Draft Policies here, and you will see drafts of Policy 1100, Board Elections and Redistricting, Policy 1200, Fiscal Responsibilities of the Board, Policy 1430, Public Input in Board Meetings, Policy 6600, Procedure 3, Hazardous Bus Routes and Space Available Bus Services, Policy 7050, Procedure 2, Safe Routes to School.
Continue watching for my weekly videocasts in your email every Monday. These videocasts provide one place for you to learn about important things happening across the district.

And now let’s hear from our excited patrons who are stoked to be at the new Wasatch Elementary School.

Tell us your name, and then I want you guys to tell me your name and what grades you guys are in.

Lacy Forsten: My name is Lacey Forsten.

Evann: My name is Evanna and I’m in second grade.

Cole Forsten: My name is Cole Forsten and I’m in Mr. Schroeder’s sixth grade class.

Wendy Dau: So what do you guys think about coming to a new school?

Cole Forsten: I really like it. It’s very cool and very new.

Wendy Dau: What about you?

Evann: It’s big.

Wendy Dau: It is big, isn’t it? Super tall, right?

Evann: But, but I thought there might be some problems up there because I thought maybe some kids might be like, bye backpack and drop their backpack down.

Wendy Dau: Oh, it’s true because there’s three floors, right? How has the transition been for your kids to move from the old building to this building?

Lacy Forsten: Um, it’s bittersweet, but honestly, What can you say about this building? It’s amazing. There’s no comparison as far as what we’re moving up to And I know it’s been a huge transition for the teachers and we’re super grateful for everything that they’ve done because it’s a big, big thing to move in the middle of the year.

So we’re we’re super excited. It’s it’s amazing.

Wendy Dau: So good. Well, I wish you both an awesome day in your new school Okay, so tell us your name.

Sophia Cardoza: Sophia Cardoza.

Wendy Dau: And what grade are you in, Sophia?

Sophia Cardoza: Fifth grade.

Luna Cardoza: My name is Luna Cardoza.

Wendy Dau: And what grade are you in?

Luna Cardoza: Third grade.

Wendy Dau: Third grade. And what do you guys think about coming to a new school in the middle of the school year?

Luna Cardoza: Happy and sad.

Wendy Dau: Oh, tell me why you’re sad a little bit.

Luna Cardoza: It’s because, um, I just miss that school and I’m just like I’ve been there for a pretty long time.

Wendy Dau: That’s true. What about you?

Sophia Cardoza: Pretty exciting, because, and a lot of stairs.

Wendy Dau: There are so many stairs. What are you most looking forward to about being in a new building?

Sophia Cardoza: Um, the view. The view is really good.

Wendy Dau: It’s pretty amazing. Like, no matter where you look out, you can see pretty incredible things. So, what about you as parents? Tell us a little bit about how this transition has been going with your kids.

Cardoza Parents: Uh, yeah, it’s been a little disruptive to our normal schedule, but like totally worth it.

It’s awesome that they get new facilities like Wasatch is I mean kind of an older school.

Wendy Dau: It’s very old.

Cardoza Parents: So it’s nice to just see a beautiful building that just looks amazing. It’s incredible

Wendy Dau: Do you have anything you want to add?

Cardoza Parents: Uh, yeah, it’s actually a lot closer to us now that it’s here, so that’s kind of nice.

Wendy Dau: So, sometimes there’s perks, right, to moving. Well, I want to wish you guys an awesome first day in this new building. Bye now. What’s your name, sweetie?

Rafael: Rafael.

Wendy Dau: And what grade are you in, Rafael?

Rafael: First grade.

Wendy Dau: First grade. Are you so excited to be in this new school?

Rafael: Yeah, very excited. It has more floors than my sister’s school.

Wendy Dau: Oh my goodness, more floors than your sister’s school. That’s incredible.

Rafael: Like my 13 year old, like my 13 year old sister.

Wendy Dau: So you’re much bigger than your 13 year old sister, right? Okay. Have a good day. Thank you. So what’s your name?

Emily Bundy: Emily.

Wendy Dau: What’s your last name, Emily?

Emily Bundy: Bundy.

Wendy Dau: And what grade are you in, Emily?

Emily Bundy: Fifth.

Wendy Dau: Fifth grade. Okay, and we got mom here. Yes?

Becky Bundy: I’m Becky Bundy.

Wendy Dau: Perfect. Okay, tell me a little bit about what you think about coming to this new school.

Emily Bundy: It’s cool.

Wendy Dau: What are you most looking forward to?

Emily Bundy: The classrooms have a lot of windows.

Wendy Dau: They do, you get to see so many more things.

Tell me, mom, how this transition has been, because this is hard in the middle of the school year. So, tell us a little bit about that.

Becky Bundy: Well, I have seen some awesome help, like a lot of parents have come help, and a lot of people have donated food and stuff for the teachers, and the teachers have worked so hard.

So, it’s been a good transition. I’m excited.

Wendy Dau: Oh, good. I’m so glad to hear that. Okay, I’m going to let you guys get to your class. Tell us your name and what grade you’re in.

Arlie Elrod: Arlie elrod, 5th grade.

Kate Hickman: Uh, Kate Hickman, 5th grade.

Wendy Dau: Okay, what are you most excited about in being in this new school?

Kate Hickman: Bathrooms.

Wendy Dau: Bathrooms! Oh, do tell more. Why are you excited about the bathrooms?

Kate Hickman: We had to use the preschooler bathrooms, so it was like so less space, and like everyone peed on the ground. It was so gross.

Wendy Dau: So you get brand new, beautiful bathrooms. That’s going to be awesome. What else are you looking forward to?

Arlie Elrod: Bathrooms.

Wendy Dau: Oh, you’re also looking forward to bathrooms. What do you think about the size of the school? Does it feel big?

Kate Hickman: Love it. Love it.

Wendy Dau: Why do you love it? Sometimes people get scared about a big building.

Kate Hickman: Well, I love it because I moved here last year and I’m and my old school had a ginormous, so it was like, when we moved to this one, I was like, oh no, it’s not the same.

And then I moved to this one, and I was like, okay, this is so much more better, because then you get more room, and like, more people to talk to, and there’s like, economy rooms, so like, it gets more, common rooms, so then it gets more like, active, and like more people like having fun, like, because this is like new, and they’re gonna have more fun like walking around, and just like, be like, oh, look at this, I found something new.

Wendy Dau: Have you guys been up to your classroom?

Arlie Elrod: Yeah.

Wendy Dau: Okay, tell me what you love about your classroom that’s in comparison to your old school.

Arlie Elrod: The desks are like way taller, and we have a, we have a amazing view because we’re on the third floor.

Wendy Dau: So you’re looking out this way, west, and it’s just beautiful, isn’t it?

It might distract you a little bit, maybe?

Arlie Elrod: Me and her are on the opposite side of the window, so.

Wendy Dau: So you’ll be okay, but, oh, well, I’m excited. I hope you guys have a great day. Okay. All right. I’m going to ask you a few questions. So tell me your name.

Helen Burt: I’m Helen Burt.

Wendy Dau: Okay. And sixth grader, tell me what you’re most excited about in terms of coming to this new building.

Helen Burt: I think it’s very pretty and my class probably has one of the best views since I’m on the top floor. I’m in Miss Isom Leo Red class.

Wendy Dau: So, tell me how this school really is so different from the old Wasatch.

Helen Burt: Well, first off, it’s much bigger, and it’s also not 75 years old, or 76, whatever.

Wendy Dau: Have you been up to your classroom yet?

Not yet. So, what are you most looking forward to about being in this space?

Helen Burt: I mean, they’ve been talking about it for a while, so I’ve always just been really excited to come to the new school. And, it’s really exciting, and, Being able to watch it being built was really cool. Like the huge detaining wall, like me and like my grandma and cousin would always call it a castle just because of how the retaining walls looked and the field is amazing for soccer.

I love soccer. And like soccer and football, frisbee, that kind of stuff. It’s amazing for that.

Wendy Dau: You feel like you’re going to have better facilities and be served better in that way. Yeah, that’s awesome. Well, I want to wish you a really great day. I’m here with Principal Ruth Ann Snow at Wasatch Elementary. Good morning.

Ruth Ann Snow: Good morning. I get emotional. Just thinking about all of the hard work our staff and teachers have done for months, but particularly the last five, six days and our parent community has been feeding us daily. They’ve helped us pack. We had an army of volunteers helping us unpack. They continue to spoil us.

It is made a herculean task. manageable because of all of their hard work and we are so grateful. It’s interesting as I’ve talked with every single parent, they have brought up the teachers and just how hard they’ve worked and how awesome they are. So just kudos to you and your staff. What are you most looking forward to by being in this new building?

I’m just so excited for the energy that I feel and I think that students are going to love their new spaces. We have areas to collaborate, the new playground, everything’s new. And so that just brings an energy and a sense of responsibility that we really want to harness and just instill a sense of pride that we’ve had in our old school, but to bring it here into this new space and really respect it and have it show not only in our academics but in just all areas of our students lives.

Wendy Dau: What’s kind of fun is that you already have this really tight knit, awesome Wasatch community, and you just got to transplant it to like this very cool facility. So it’s really great.

Tell us about one of the challenges and how people have helped you overcome some of those challenges.

Ruth Ann Snow: I think anytime you’re leaving a new space, I use the analogy of someone has built you your dream home, but you’ve never seen it and you get to go in and you get to figure out new systems.

And, you know, if it was a kitchen that you’ve never seen, it would be, where am I putting my peanut butter? Where am I putting my honey? Where’s the knife to, you know, cut the bread. Our teachers have been so flexible. They’ve seen their spaces. They saw their new classrooms maybe once or twice before they moved in.

It’s a different space, but they’ve. Have come up with such amazing solutions, and they’ve been just really flexible in how they’re learning to use their new space to make it work for their classrooms, and they’ve done that in a matter of days.

Wendy Dau: Literally a matter of days. It’s been pretty impressive. So…

Ruth Ann Snow: I want to compliment them, too.

I’ve heard from a lot of parents who have been so impressed and pleased with the online learning that was provided. They really, we set the bar high and for those students that took advantage of it, they really had meaningful and very intentional learning if they took advantage of that on those two days.

Wendy Dau: Yeah, that really shows the dedication where I’m still providing the learning while I’m unpacking my classroom and managing all of these different things that takes a lot of energy. So thank you, Ruth Ann, to you and your staff. Okay, I’m here with Meg Van Wagenen, who is one of our board members, and she oversees Wasatch Elementary.

Good morning.

Megan Van Wagenen: Good morning.

Wendy Dau: So, tell us a little bit about, uh, how you’re feeling this morning as we’re opening up this school.

Megan Van Wagenen: I am feeling so excited, and I am feeling so grateful for Principal Snow, her faculty, her teachers, and just the endeavor to accomplish moving in the middle of a school year. It is so fun to be here with all the students.

And their parents and everyone’s excited. It’s just really, really fun. And I’m just really excited for this community.

Wendy Dau: What have been some of the challenges that we faced in trying to move this school, especially in the middle of a school year that you’ve helped us navigate?

Megan Van Wagenen: So one is like how to minimize disruption to learning and instruction, but also giving our teachers time to move and organize their classrooms, right? And essentially them having to go offline for a few days in a sense.

They don’t print things off. They don’t have access to their tech stuff. So trying to navigate how to orchestrate that. And I do give a lot of credit once again to Principal Snow for coming up with a really great plan. And this is what our on day learnings are going to look like.

And then the district staff helping with all that and also being able to say, okay, how many days of online learning can we do realistically, but still give everybody time to do this.

Wendy Dau: It’s awesome. It’s been really great to see the energy here. What have you been most excited about with this new building? Like as you’re watching kids come in, where’s the greatest excitement coming from?

Megan Van Wagenen: I think them being able just to see this new space that they’ve been hearing about and knowing it’s coming and like, this is it. And really for them all to be in a safe. The great things that were happening in the old building can continue in this building and the new things that will happen in this building, the new traditions that will start.

Wendy Dau: What’s been so great is Wasatch has such a tight knit community and that community just got plopped into a brand new building but it’s like it’s still here and you see evidence of that everywhere. Anything else you want to add? About this morning or about the process?

Megan Van Wagenen: I don’t think so. I just am feeling so excited and so grateful that we got to the finish line here.

Wendy Dau: I think what’s also interesting is how many people were so skeptical of what this building was going to look like. And now to talk with people and now that they see it, they’re like, no, this is a fantastic space for our kids. So that’s been really fun too. So thank you. All right, I’m here with Melanie Hall, who is one of our board members.

Good morning.

Melanie Hall: Good morning.

Wendy Dau: Tell me what has been most exciting about moving here to the new Wasatch Elementary.

Melanie Hall: Just the fact that this is finally coming to fruition. I’ve been on the board since this needed to happen, and now that it’s here, it’s so exciting.

Wendy Dau: What have been some of the challenges or, or things that you’ve dealt with as a board member that you feel like have kind of resolved themselves as a result of this building being built and people actually seeing it?

Melanie Hall: I think the fact that we took into consideration that their building was old. We wanted to hear what they wanted. We took what their needs were and I feel like we incorporated it over here and we gave them a beautiful building.

Wendy Dau: It’s pretty incredible. The kids are so excited about the view and they keep mentioning how fantastic, like the spaces and their classrooms.

What have you heard from the community about what are they most excited about?

Melanie Hall: The newness. I wish most people could be here and hear the buzz of all the kids around us right here. And even the parents are like, Oh, this is so fun. I mean, you could just see him just bouncing around and excited to be here.

Wendy Dau: That’s awesome. Thank you very much.

Okay, tell us your name and what grade you teach.

Jane Wells: I’m Jane Wells and I teach second grade.

Wendy Dau: Tell me about what this process has been to move schools in the middle of the year.

Jane Wells: Well, it has been really challenging. But also we’ve been really supportive and I feel so grateful. We’re so happy to be here in this new space. I attended that old Wasatch as a child, so I have a lot of sentimental feelings wrapped up in that building. But this building is just incredible. And we’re thrilled to have this new space to be able to work in. So, thank you so much.

Wendy Dau: It’s so great and your classroom looks amazing. I would never have known that you, like, moved, like, last week. This is incredible.

Jane Wells: I recruited a lot of friends and family and I feel so grateful for them. It came together and it’s, it’s a wonderful space and the kids, you can already tell, they’re so excited to be here and have this place to learn, so.

Wendy Dau: What are you most excited about about this new space?

Jane Wells: Well, in our last school we were separated into two buildings and that was hard and I really feel glad to be all together and not have to kind of cross boundaries and and different-

Wendy Dau: Go outside to get to a different part of the building-

Jane Wells: Weird, like middle- middle of the road place.

Wendy Dau: Well, I wish you a fantastic first day with your littles and looking forward to seeing all the great things that happen here at Wasatch.

Thank you everyone for joining me for this week’s episode of What’s Up with the Sup’. As always, all episodes will be posted on the district website, YouTube, and anywhere you get your podcasts.

If you have any topics or questions you would like us to discuss on the podcast, please email us at Podcast@Provo.Edu. Don’t forget to join us again next week for another new episode of What’s Up with the Sup’. Thanks everybody.